


Daughter of the Dewback

by DarthChocolate



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 13:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16640714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthChocolate/pseuds/DarthChocolate
Summary: Padawan Xiaan Amersu is lost in the middle of the desert during a pursuit of Republic enemies. This is a somewhat AU of Xiaan and A'Sharad's first meeting.





	Daughter of the Dewback

     “Tatooine is a planet ruled by criminals. There is no Republic presence here. The Hutt clans rule over most of it. I am going to meet with Gardulla the Hutt and then with Jabba the Hutt. Perhaps, they might have some intel that we can use. Hutts are known slave traders. It is not safe for you to come with me.” Master Oppo Rancisis explained to his young Twi’lek apprentice as he slithered across the sand. “That is why we are in this town. While I am talking to the Hutts, you will speak with the moist farmers. Reports have come in that our mysterious terrorists may have attacked them too. Remember you are not to interfere in this planet’s conflicts nor should engage in unnecessary risks. Stay in this town until I return to you.”

     “Understood, master.” Xiaan Amersu nodded.

     “Good, this is a recon mission only. You will meet Silos Tar. He is a friend of the Republic and has been advised of your mission. May the Force by with you.”

     “May the Force be with you too, master.”

 

    Moist farmers lived in underground homes. Silo Tar’s house was the largest in the entire town. The community would hold meetings there. Today’s meeting had only a few people attending. It was just him, his wife, their three children, and his younger brother.

    “Aren’t you a little too young to be doing a job like this?” His wife gave Xiaan a leery glance.

    Xiaan calmly respond, “Perhaps. However, they assigned me to this task. I will do my best to help. You said that your home had been attacked recently.”

    “Yes,” Silo confirmed. “But it was probably done by those vile Sand People. You don’t need to come all the way out here for this.”

    “Since I am here,” Xiaan rose from her seat. “May I please inspect the damage?”

    “Knock yourself out.” He remarked and lead her outside. His brother accompanied them. His wife and children stayed inside the house.

    Xiaan examined eight different broken harvesters and security units. “What can you tell me about Sand People’s attacks?”

   “Vicious brutes who believe the desert belongs to them alone and will kill to protect their claim. They are all cowards. Most of their attacks are sneaky ambushes.” Silo stated.

   “Do they steal parts?”

   He laughed. “No, that would be Jawas. They are scavengers that sell what they steal.”

   “Then it wasn’t Sand People who attacked you,” she concluded.

    “What are you talking about?!” Silo pointed to the debris. “Just look at them. They are smashed to pieces.”

    “I have tried to put them back together,” she explained. “Each harvester is missing the same part. The security grid units are also missing the same parts.”

    “Maybe the Sand People’s attack pulverized the part, and the wind blew it away.” He countered.

    Xiaan went over to the harvester in the northwest corner. “Noticed the direction of the blow.” She pointed down. “The outer layer is still here. Also, the missing part should have tiny fragments embedded there if it were intact during impact. There is nothing. The Sand People didn’t do this.”

   “Should we postpone?” His brother asked him.

    “No.”

   “What are you planning?” She inquired of them.

   “Our fight with the Sand People,” his brother answered.

   “You need to postpone that. They are innocent.” She protested.

   “We can’t know for sure.” Silo stated.

   “Then please give me more time to confirm it. I’ll check the damage on the other farms.” She suggested.

   “They are still dangerous.” Silo insisted.

   Xiaan reasoned, “It is even more dangerous to fight a battle on two fronts.”

   “Alright, we will wait,” Silo decided. “You can check out the damage on the other farms in the morning.”

   The next morning, they drove out into the desert on Silo’s landspeeder. He drove them. Xiaan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong as they drove out. Her instincts weren’t wrong.

  Word came over the comm of an ambush. Silo veered towards the action. A battle was ensuing between the moist farmers, Sand People and an unknown third party. He lied to her. Xiaan shot Silo an angry look before she leaped in among the fighting. The Sand People were mowed down in the crossfire. She couldn’t save them, but she could save the farmers. Using the Force, Xiaan threw the grenades back at the mystery assailants.

  “I’ll provide you cover.” She blocked incoming shots.

  Silo fired his blaster. “We’ll back you up.” Instead Silo and the moist farmers abandoned her to the enemy and fled, she was left to hold her ground. The enemy departed shortly afterwards.

   She reached out in the Force to see if she was truly all alone. She felt one presence and headed towards it. There was a dead Sand Person and an injury bantha. She tried her commlink. It got broken during the fight. The surroundings were barren except for the dead bodies. She had no way of getting back to the town. Xiaan gently pat the bantha on its’ head. “I guess we’re on our own.”

    The beast nuzzled up against her affectionally as she tended to its’ wounds. They were left out in the open. Xiaan surmised that they should move to the cliffs for safety. The bantha couldn’t travel that far. It had to be carried. “Size doesn’t matter,” she chatted to herself.  Once she carried the bantha with the Force over to the cliffs, she searched for suitable shelter. There was a nice size cave, but the Squills didn’t want to share. She drove the critters out and gently placed the bantha inside. It moaned in pain. Xiaan felt useless that she couldn’t provide it with more aid. She quickly surveyed the area before setting up camp for the night. The fire and robe couldn’t provide enough protect from the cold, so she snuggled next to the bantha. Her belt contained three small ration bars. Xiaan ate one and offered one to the creature. The bantha quickly slurped the bar. It might have stunk, but it was pretty warm and soft. She fell asleep on the bantha.

   She awoke to something small nudging her. At first, she feared that it was a missed Squill. She opened her eyes to see a newborn bantha calf. Xiaan thought it was adorable. It was looked like its’ mother except its’ horns were smaller. She realized it was another being to feed. The calf rubbed up against her. She finished her last ration bar and went out in search of more food.

   Half of the day was spent gathering food for the banthas. The mother bantha inhaled everything. Then, Xiaan went hunting for her own food. She killed a rill. While she was dragging back to the cave, she noticed a baby dewback running. It was being pursued by four womprats. They cornered the baby dewback. Xiaan came to its’ rescue and hurled the rats aside. They scurried away. She headed to the cave. The little dewback followed behind her. She sighed and let it follow her. Once they arrived, she dropped down more food for the mother bantha and started cooking the rill.

   The mother bantha had been so focused on the food that she didn’t notice the little dewback. It tried to steal some of her food. She quickly spotted that and pushed the dewback aside. The baby dewback kept trying to get the food. She kept shoving it back. The little dewback finally gave up and walked to Xiaan. She tossed the dewback parts of the rill that she didn’t want. The dewback happily devoured it. She checked the mother bantha’s wound before retiring for the night.

   A loud slurp awoke her up. The morning dew was fittingly on the baby dewback’s back. The mother bantha licked it off. This made the dewback very happy. It became affectionate towards her. In turn, she grew fond of it. She allowed it to play with her calf, snuggle with them and sometimes nurse alongside her calf. All of the creatures loved Xiaan.

   The following days, Xiaan and the baby dewback gathered food and water for them. Xiaan hoped once the mother bantha recuperated, she could ride the bantha back to the town. The bantha had been getting better day by day. She could now move around with aches or pains. Still, Xiaan wanted to wait one more day to be on the safe side.

   While she was cooking some meat outside of the cave, Xiaan felt a disturbance in the Force. She whipped out her lightsaber in time to deflect the shots. The mother bantha rushed out of the cave to protect her. Xiaan yelled for her to stop, but it charged protectively in front of her.

    To her amazement, the shooting halted. Sand People sprung up. There were nine of them. They bore rifles and melee weapons. One of them lifted his arm and slowly approach the mother bantha. He inspected the bantha. Then he yelled something to the others, and they lowered their weapons. Next, the Sand Person gently stroked the bantha. Xiaan deactivated her lightsaber. He grabbed the reins of the bantha and pulled it forward. He gestured for Xiaan to follow him. She, the baby bantha and the dewback trailed behind them. He took them to four mounted banthas.

   The eight Sand People felt leery of Xiaan. Their hands were restless on their weapons. Only the one Sand Person seemed to not to ready to attack her. She called him the Calm One. He carefully picked up the calf and strapped it on top of his bantha. He handed her the reins to the mother bantha. She climbed up the bantha while carrying the little dewback. They rode out. The suns were setting as they stopped for the night. The Sand People made a fire. As they ate, Xiaan tried to communicate with them. She spoke a few phrases in each language that she knew. She couldn’t see their faces to know to recognize a response. She had to depend on the Force to tell her their feelings. They seemed bored, confused, and irritated by the various languages. She gave up and went to sleep.

    Their surprise startled her awake. She attempted to find the source but didn’t see anything peculiar. The shock faded, and they mounted their banthas. They traveled to the Sand People’s village. The entire tribe was murmuring about her. Xiaan felt uncomfortable with all their staring. The Sand People dressed mostly same. There had been very slight differences between each member. The easiest to spot was the male versus the female. The men wore pants, and the females wore skirts for the most part. The females also had long necklace which were made from different materials. Their moods ranged from curiosity to annoyance. She decided to stay close to the Calm One near the outskirts of the village. She noticed some of the Sand People combing the feet of their banthas and joined them by combing the mother bantha’s feet.

    Xiaan had finished brushing the baby bantha’s feet when the Calm One brought four Sand people to met her. One man had a large bandolier. The other man with a lizard skull on his back was their leader. He had two men standing behind him. She didn’t know if she was supposed to bow or not. Their leader had very imitating feel to him. She stood very still as he scrutinized her. The Calm One and the man with large bandolier were arguing. Neither man seemed happy with the leader’s words. They departed. The Calm One beckoned her to do some tasks. He patiently instructed her on how to trim the bantha’s hair. All the hair was placed in baskets. He checked the mouths and feet of all the banthas. A female with braided chained brought over a pack of massifs. He inspected the spiky dog like creatures. After he was done, he assigned Xiaan to wash them. When the work was done, they went for food.

    The braided chained woman pulled Xiaan along to sit down with a group of women and children. She handed Xiaan a bowl of stew. It tasted fine, but it did make Xiaan sick to her stomach. Everyone retired to their huts. No one told her where to go. She decided to be laid against the mother bantha. The calf slept on her side. The little dewback rested its’ head on her lap. The braided chained woman gave her a blanket. Xiaan thanked her even though she knew the woman didn’t understand.

   The baby dewback seem content with its’ new surroundings. It enjoyed being part of a herd of banthas.It played with some of the young banthas. The only problem for it was food. The Sand People won’t let the dewback eat any of the bantha’s food. The massiffs won’t share their food. It went to Xiaan for food. She would have given the little dewback some of her food, but the Sand People wouldn’t allow it. She didn’t get upset instead she took the dewback out hunting. They caught two dwarf nunas. The little dewback chewed up the one. She dragged the other one back to village and cooked it. She saved it as meal for the dewback and some of the massiffs. The Calm One seemed pleased with Xiaan cleaning the bones of the dwarf nuna. His mood turned sour. She worried that she had done something wrong.

   The Calm One was talking with a group of other Sand People who were very angry. One of them kept pointing at her and spoke in a harsh tone. They were starting to shove each other and become aggressive. She was afraid of fighting breaking out and came in between them to prevent it.  The Screaming Man who had previous pointed at her grabbed her arm. They pulled out their melee weapons. Xiaan lifted up her other arm as she had seen the Calm One do. They cautiously stood down. She let the Screaming Man pull her along to the mother bantha. He pointed to the bantha and then to her. Next, he drew something in the sand with his finger. She kneeled down to get a better look at the symbol. It had been on the criminal vehicles that had attacked her and the moisture farmers. She attempted to explained by her finger to her eye and touching the symbol as she nodded her head. This eased their aggravation. They prepped their banthas to leave. Xiaan grabbed the reins of the mother bantha, so she could come with them. The Screaming Man slapped the reins out of her hands. Maybe, he didn’t want her to take the mother bantha away from her calf. She slowly walked to the group of older banthas without saddles. One of the bantha lowered to the ground and allow her to ride it. The Sand People were shocked by her action. They eventually shrugged it off. The group headed out with the Calm One. She followed behind them.

   They traveled singular file through the desert. The Calm One was positioned in front of her. The Screaming Man was behind her in the line. After a long distance, Xiaan felt a group of beings nearby. She moved her bantha alongside the Calm One. He gestured for her to go back in the line. Xiaan pointed to her eye and wave her hand in circle to west. The Calm One slowly understood and called out something to the others. The caravan changed course. They stopped a short distance. One of the Sand People left briefly to scout the surroundings. Everyone but the Calm One jumped off their banthas to follow the scout. Xiaan wavered about going until the Screaming Man signaled her to come. They crept slowly towards their target.

  There was a group of Jawas in front of them. They looked like they were recently attacked. Xiaan didn’t want another fight on her and interceded between the two groups.  She blocked the Sand People’s shot. She used the Force to knock the Jawas and Sand People’s weapons from their hands. They went to retrieved them.

    “We aren’t here to fight them! Everyone stop shooting!” She blurted in frustration.To her amazement, they ceased fighting. She slowly approached one of the Jawas. With her finger, she drew the same symbol that the Screaming Man had done before.“Have you seen people with this symbol?”

    She could only comprehend parts of the Jawa’s language. “Bad men…Bad men hurt Jawa.”

    “Yes, they have hurt a lot of people. We are after them. Do you know where they went?”

    “Over there. Over there.” Jawa pointed.

    “Where exactly?” She pressed for more information.

    The Jawa started drawing in the sand next to her. The Screaming Man came over to them. The Jawa held up his blaster. Thankfully he didn’t fire it. He was just being cautious. Screaming Man examined the drawing. He called out to the other Sand People. They put away their rifles and withdrew from the Jawas.

     “Thank you very much.” The Jawas were also grateful. They wished the bad men dead. Xiaan returned to the caravan.

     The Sand People moved in a great hurry. Once they arrived at a valley, they took up points on various ridges. They planned to sniper their enemy. It was an easy tactic for them. She didn’t know how she should factor into the fight. They had the rocks to protect them. She figured it would be better if she stayed closer to the action. She hided in the valley and waited.

     A few moments later, the enemy caravan arrived. They had a landspeeder in the front with two swoops near it. Two speederbikes were followed by a large skiff. She sensed captive Sand People and Jawas. Once the skiff passed close enough to Xiaan, she used the Force to yank down the vehicle. The speederbikes maneuvered around the skiff to avoid crashing into it. Then, she leaped on to the skiff between the captives and the criminals. She sliced through a few blasters and deflected a shot to damage the controls. The Sand People opened fire on the landspeeder. They took out the guys inside. Despite being surrounded, the criminals refused to surrender. After they were all defeated, Xiaan released the captives. She felt the animosity between the Jawas and the Sand People.

    “Those two vehicles are still working.” She checked the engine of a swoop and a speederbike. “Can you make it home on them?”

     Jawas answered, “yes.”

     Xiaan handed a Jawa a flask of water from off one of the corpses. She wished them well. The Jawas departed on the vehicles. Her body ached. She desperately wanted to rest. A female Sand Person cried. Xiaan went over to her. The woman carried her baby in her arms. Their outfits made it impossible to see the problem. She closed her eyes, and let the Force tell her the problem. The baby’s presences in the Force was weak. Xiaan placed her hand above the child and concentrated. She recognized the problem and quickly got the medical kit from the landspeeder. She injected the child with some medicine. The child coughed and started breathing normally. The female Sand Person carried her child to the banthas.

    The Calm One gave food to the former captives. They were women and children. Xiaan took two small mouthful of food and gave the rest away to one of the children. The mother initial refused. Xiaan insisted since she could sense the child was still hungry. Also, the food had been making her sick to her stomach. The mother caved in and gave it to her child. Xiaan snuck away to throw up again.  She didn’t want to be rude to them. When she got back, they were ready to leave. They stopped along the way to let the weak child eat again. The Calm One glanced at Xiaan and attempted to speak to her. She couldn’t understand him, but she felt his concern for her. She wanted to tell him that she was ok. Yet, she did feel very tired. They climbed up their banthas and kept going.

   They were about halfway to the village. Xiaan felt two strong presences in the Force. She hoped they are Jedi. She knew they were in trouble. Immediately, she turned the bantha towards their direction. Once she was close enough, she handed the reins to the female Sand Person that was sitting next to her. She leaped off the bantha and bolted to them.

    The criminals were bearing down on another group of Sand People. They had held their own. However, the criminals were starting to break through their line. Xiaan scanned the area to find the other Jedi. Suddenly, she spotted a lightsaber on one of the Sand People. She couldn’t tell… the masks! She used the Force to create a small dust cloud. The criminals were blinded by it. The Sand People were able to defeat them easily.  

    When the fighting concluded, Xiaan walked towards the Sand Person with the lightsaber. She bowed to him. “Hello master, I am Xiaan Amersu.”

    “Who is your teacher?” He asked her in Basic.

    “Master Oppo Rancisis.”

   “I know him. I’m Sharad Hett.” He pointed to the Sand Person next to him. “This is A’Sharad Hett.”

   “Your apprentice?”

   “Yes.” Sharad replied, “and my son.”

   She was stunned by his revelation. She quickly recovered and smiled. “I’m happy to meet both of you.”

   “Where is your master, and how did you end up here?”

    “We were following a lead considering criminals that have been involved in assassinations. It has led us here. Master Rancisis went to speak with the Hutts, and he sent me to talk to the moist farmers. There was a fight.” She felt light headed. “I tried to prevent it, but they won’t listen. The criminals attacked. The farmers fled. I was …” Her world turned black.

 

 

 

   Many years ago, his ship was attack. His escape pod crashed landed on Tatooine in the middle of the desert.  After he slayed a krayt dragon, he was accepted into a Sand People’s tribe. In the beginning, Sharad searched for a way back to the Jedi temple. As time went by, the tribe became his new family. He got married. His bonded mate gave him a son, A’Sharad, before she died. He trained his son to be both a Jedi and Sand Person since that was what he was now too. His skill and strength helped him to raise to the rank of warlord in the tribe. He followed their traditions except when it conflicted with his Jedi teaching. He protested against their Bloodrite. It was a ritual where a teenage boy would torture some creature or being for long period of time. He didn’t force the tribe to change instead he tried to convince them to stop the practice.

   “Where is glory or skill in fighting something a weaker than you? How light is the gaderffii in a hand that wield against a cripple numa rather than fierce Sand Demon? Are we not training our boy to be weak by observing the rite of pain?”

   “The desert is harsh. We must be harsh. You disrespect our traditions.” Someone objected.

   “No, I honor the desert. It teaches us with endurance and combat. We fight under its’ suns. We endure its’ sandstorms. It challenges us to battle. Does it tied us to post? Never! It is unnatural. Will a dragon lay on its’ back to allow you to torment? If we allow our sons to use this tactic, we are allowing them to be bit in half. It doesn’t take a warrior to torture something. A mere kreetle could do it. I want my son to be a great warrior. I will not have him weaken with feeble tradition.”

   The tribe took his words to heart. They abandoned the Bloodrite. They weren’t just impressed by his counsel. Sharad was a fine warrior who never lost a fight. When some of the other nearby villages were being slaughtered, Sharad called for warriors to battle. Some came for the honor of the Sand People. Most came hungry for war.

   Sharad investigated the wreckage of the attacked villages. Most people perished. However, some were taken captive. The settlers wouldn’t do that. They viewed the Sand People as vermin. They would take them as slaves. He found evidence of this in an abandon mining operation. The captive Sand People were clearly forced to work there. They killed the captives once the work was finished. The vile Hutts used slaves for work. Yet, he reasoned that they weren’t behind it. They would never just waste so many health slaves. They valued their credits too much. Someone else was behind this. Sharad wanted to discover who it was. When another village was attack, he went to investigate even though it was far away. He took only a few warriors with him. The rest of the men needed to stay and guard the village.

   A survivor gave them bad information which led them into a trap. The enemy had greater numbers and better weapons. The Force was with Sharad in a surprising way. During the battle, he naturally battle meld with his son. Yet, he suddenly felt another presence close to them. Though the Force, this individual came to find and help them. They watched a sandstorm popped up from behind the enemy. The storm turned the tide of battle and gained them a victory.

   They met their young Twi’lek rescuer. She introduced herself as a fellow Jedi. Sharad recognized Xiaan Amersu’s master. He also noticed how exhausted she was. The sandstorm moved would have tired out even a health Jedi. Her skin color told him that she was ill. It came as no surprise as she collapsed. Sharad caught her before she hit the ground. He looked up to see another group of Sand People in the distance.

   Sharad followed the custom of interacting with another tribe. “Identify yourself!”

  “We are from the Wraid Rock. I am A’Dae.” A Sand Person declared for his group.

  “We are from the Valley of the Dragon. I am Warlord Sharad.” He swiftly picked Xiaan up and held her in his arms.

   A’Dae broke procedure and walked towards them. Sharad’s men pointed their weapons at him. A’Dae quickly stopped. One of Sharad’s men snared and derided him. “You dare approach us, herder.”

   “Is the Daughter of the Dewback alright?” A’Dae inquired of him.

   Sharad felt the man’s genuine concern for her. “She will be,” he signaled to his men to stand down. He carried Xiaan over to A’Dae. His son accompanied him. “She is just tired and dehydrated. In a few days, she will be strong again if she rests.”

  “Our village is not too far from here. If you come as a brother, we will take you there.” A’Dae offered.

   Sharad turned to the corpses. “These men are our prey.”

  “Then we are on the same hunt. There are enough kills for all of us.” A’Dae stated. “Come with us.”

  They gathered together at the banthas. Sharad commented on the women and children in the other group. “Why are they here?”

   “The vile men stole them. Daughter of the Dewback helped us to take them.” A’Dae reached out his arms for her. “My bantha and I can carry her to the village.”

   Law of possession was unbreakable. Even if a warlord conquered the entire tribe, he couldn’t take another man’s bantha, mate, child or weapon. No one could. A’Dae might care for Xiaan. Still, Sharad didn’t want to lose control of a fellow Jedi especially since he didn’t know the whole situation. He instead handed her to his son. A’Sharad held her awkwardly in his arms.

   A’Dae remarked on A’Sharad stiff posture. “Think of her as a young bantha just not as fluffy.” A’Dae noticed Sharad’s lightsaber. “You have the same weapon as her.”

   “I came from her tribe.” Sharad admitted.

   “Do you speak her language?”

   “I do,” Sharad waved to his men. “We must get moving.”

     A’Dae agreed, and they proceed to the village. Once there, Sharad and his warriors waited out on the border of the village. It was the custom to wait there so no unintentional fight would occur. A’Dae and his group made their report to their leader. The villagers watched them from a safe distance. A little dewback chose not to adhere to the custom. A female Sand Person attempted to stop it, but the little creature slipped through her grip. The dewback ran to A’Sharad who was carrying Xiaan. It climbed up to get to her. A’Sharad pushed it down. His father felt it peaceful intent and calmed it down.

    The chieftain heard the whole matter and met with Sharad personally. He brought with him two guards, A’Dae and Equus who wore a large bandolier. He was Blood Champion and had considerable power in the tribe. This was a good sign. If the chieftain only brought his guards, he meant to attack them. This shows that he wanted to talk.

   “Why are you here?” The chieftain stared straight at Sharad.

   “To hunt the outsiders who have been attacking villages like cowards.”

   He seemed satisfied with Sharad’s answer. The chieftain gestured to Xiaan. “The Daughter of the Dewback may be allow in our tribe.”

    “We will welcome her as a daughter.” A’Dae declared. He didn’t expect that Equus would challenge that.

   “She is too old.”

   “But the sign of,” A’Dae argued. “The dewback nursing from the bantha. She must be a child.”

   “The dewback has stopped nursing,” the chieftain stated. “She can’t be accepted as a child any longer. She will be accepted as a mate.”

   This didn’t discourage A’Dae. “Then, give her to my son when he returns from his initiation.”

   “She is too great a warrior to be given to a herder.” Equus waved his hand. “I will take her as a mate.”

    The chieftain tilted his head to Sharad. “What is your stake in this?” He sought to know if Sharad had laid claim to her.

   “Have you ever seen her people before?”

    The chieftain motioned to one of his guards. He came forward. “Long ago, I saw a male of her kind. He had a collar around his neck. A disgusting worm captured him.”

   “You saw how well she fought. Her tribe is not that worm. They are powerful warriors. Her father is here.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Sharad had thought. Apprentices commonly reviewed their master as parents. “Anyone who tries to take her without his permission will face his wrath.”

    “What if he is dead?” Equus proposed.

   “It would be wiser to find out first. Give me seven days to find him. If we can’t find him, you and I will discuss what is best for her.” The chieftain agreed with Sharad. He added, “For now, I will leave three of my men behind with her.”

    “We have some huts at the edge of the village which they may use.” A’Dae extended his family hospitality to Sharad’s clan. Equus was about to object instead he bit his tongue. The custom had many rules. It had been established to find a prospective mate from another tribe. A village might have been hit with famine or some other reason, and mates are few. A family in tribe takes them in and cares for them. The family is also expected to kill the visitors if they prove to be enemies. Equus didn’t want to endanger his life.

    “Then it is settled. They will be under your care, A’Dae.” The chieftain decreed. He, his guards and Equus left.

     A’Dae showed them to their huts. A’Sharad gently placed her down inside the hut. The little dewback pushed its’ way through to Xiaan and licked her hand. She unconsciously reached inside a pocket of her belt and pulled out a piece of smoked meat. The dewback chewed it up and laid down beside her.

    A’Sharad was curious by the display. “How long has she been taking care of the dewback?”

    “I would say about four or five days before we found her.” A’Dae reckoned. “She also took care of a mother bantha and her newborn calf. The Daughter of the Dewback is a kind protecter.”

   “Yet, Equus want to sacrifice her to the Bloodrite.” A female Sand Person walked inside.

    “This is my bonded mate K’Otar.” A’Dae introduced her.

    She bowed her head slightly. Then, she made her way closer to Xiaan. K’Otar had been carrying a bowl of food and flask of water with her.

    Sharad sat Xiaan up against him. He took the flask from K’Otar and had Xiaan take a few sips of water from it. He was going to give her some food when he spotted something. “Is that Hubba Gourd in it?”

   “Yes,” K’Otar was confused.

    A’Dae understood right away. “Is that what has been making her sick?”

   “I believe so.” Sharad thought up a solution. “Do you have any Black Melon? Its’ milk should be easier on her stomach.”

   K’Otar turned to her mate. He concurred with Sharad. K’Otar quickly fetched some melon.

    Xiaan sipped the Black Melon’s milk. Her face contorted in disgust. “Eww,” she was still groggy. “I don’t want medicine. I want to sleep. Please, master.”

    Sharad firmly insisted. “Youngling, you must drink more before you can rest.”

    She begrudgingly took drank some drink. Sharad gently let her down to rest. He told A’Sharad. “You are going stay here and look after her. You are the only other person who knows Basic. We’re heading out now. Good hunting, my son.” He rose.

   “Good hunting, father.”

    Sharad addressed A’Dae for a moment. “She will need a damp cloth for her forehead.” They both departed. A’Dae retrieved the supplies and came back to the hut. He handed it off to her mate. Then he left to work outside.

    K’Otar took cloth and soaked it in water. She squeezed the extra water back into the bowl and placed the cloth on Xiaan. The dewback watched her intensely. It rubbed its’ head along Xiaan’s arm.

   “What are we going to do with the little dewback?” K’Otar wondered outloud.

    “Where did it stay before?” A’Sharad petted the dewback.

    “With the banthas,” she answered. “However, the Daughter of the Dewback stayed there too.”

     “Why wasn’t she brought into a hut?”

    “It’s complicated.” She sighed and begun to explain. “We had sent out scouts looking for survivors from the other tribe. Our chieftain had already welcomed a few people into our tribe. We figured the evil settlers ambushed our scouts, and then they were ambushed themselves by another enemy. When we didn’t hear from them, our chieftain sent out two groups of warriors to find them. My mate’s group found them all dead except for one missing bantha. They searched for the bantha. They stumbled upon the Daughter of the Dewback and were going to kill her. The bantha charged out of a cave to protect her. He saw the calf and baby dewback behind the bantha. They were amazed by how affectionate the mother bantha was towards them. She treated the little dewback like her own calf. We took it as a sign that we should adopt her into our tribe. There were those who refuse to believe the sign. They claimed that she was an evil settler or an enemy in disguise. She isn’t?”

    “She isn’t a settler. Her tribe isn’t from here.” A’Sharad confirmed. “She is after the same enemy as us.”

    “You speak her language?” He nodded. K’Otar looked down at her. “What is her name?”

    “Xiaan.”

     “I wonder what Xiaan would want us to do with the dewback.” K’Otar rubbed its’ head.

      “Let it check on her. Then it should go back with the banthas.” A’Sharad decided. They became quiet after that. K’Otar weaved with some bantha hair. A’Sharad patiently stood guard. A’Dae came in and brought them food. He took the little dewback outside. A’Sharad expected them both to leave. “Why didn’t you go with your mate?”

     “I am here to help you take care of her.” K’Otar sat up straight, “and make sure you don’t take her.”

     “I have killed krayt dragons. I can take care by myself. You really believe you could stop me. I could take her halfway across the desert before you called for help.”

     “I didn’t mean…” She slanted her head. “Don’t you have a mate?”

      “No.”

      K’Otar quietly pondered this. Her son won’t be able to challenge Equus for Xiaan. Equus was a strong warrior and ruthless to all. She didn’t want him to get Xiaan. Perhaps, if her father is dead, Sharad will have his son ask for her. She preferred that. “The young girl didn’t desire a harsh mate,” she thought.

    Xiaan’s breathing became heavy. She tossed and turned. K’Otar gently touched her shoulder. Xiaan rolled away from her and brushed against A’Sharad. Her eyes were hazy. “The ship is under attack. The masters ordered us to stay here. You can’t go.”

    A’Sharad grabbed her arms. “Xiaan, wake up.”

     “I can feel them dying.” She cried.

    “Wake up,” he shook her slightly.

     “Where am I?”

    “Somewhere safe,” he released his grip on her.

     “No where is safe.” Xiaan collapsed in his arms. “They’re all dead.” She rested her head on his chest. “Please, don’t leave me alone.”

     “I won’t.” A’Shara held her in his arms and gently rubbed her back until she calmed down and fell asleep.

     Xiaan’s health greatly improved in the morning. She woke up more alert and before A’Sharad did. That frustrated him because prided himself in his physical discipline.

     “Good morning,” Xiaan smiled at him as he rose. “Food should be here in a moment, I think. Did you sleep well?” She remembered having a nightmare last night. Her body was sweaty when she woke up. She worried that she kept him up all night.

      “Yes,” his tone clearly irritated.

     She didn’t know the reason for it. However, she figured that she must done something wrong and would strive to do better. A’Dae walked in with their food. The little dewback snuck in behind him and climbed on Xiaan’s lap. She gave it a hug. “Good morning, my little hunter. I’ve missed you too.” She realized something. “A’Sharad, what is their name?”

    “He is A’Dae, and she is K’Otar.”

    Xiaan waved at them. “Hi A’Dae. Hello K’Otar.” They regarded her baffled. “Wait, what is the word for hello?”

    “There is none.”

    “Oh,” she felt awkward. A’Dae handed her some food. She thanked him. Xiaan was leery of eating the food.

    “It’s ok. My father figured out what was making you sick.”

    “Where is he?” Xiaan took a mouthful of food.

    "Searching for your master."

    She looked at her food and then at the little dewback on her lap. “I should get some food for my little hunter. They won’t let me feed him any of my food. Does it go against a law or custom?”

    He shrugged. “It is just not done.”

    They finished their meal. A’Dae got up. He took their bowls and left. Xiaan started to rise.

    A’Sharad suddenly grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?”

     “To hunt with the dewback,” she answered. “It needs some food.” “It will be fine. You need more rest. You aren’t fainting again.”

   “Of course,” Xiaan stand down apologetically. There was an awkward tension in the air. They didn’t know what to do. Xiaan decided to meditate. A’Sharad followed suit. The little dewback got bored just sitting there. It walked out of the hut.

    K’Otar took out some threads and proceed to knit them. She had burning question in her mind. After a while she asked A’Sharad to interpret it. “She wonders if you can move your head tails.”

    Xiaan hid a smirk under her hand. “They are not tails. They are called lekku, and they stored part of my brain inside them. I can’t move them at will. However, they do move in response to my feelings.”

    “Does that mean your people are smarter?”

    “No, my race isn’t smarter.” Xiaan clarified. “They’re really my people anymore. I am part of the Jedi Order. We are many different kinds of people in one tribe.”

     “Would a member of my tribe be welcomed?” K’Otar inquired.

    “Yes, but you need to be strong in the Force.” “I can’t interpret that.” A’Sharad injected. “We don’t have a word for it in our tongue, and I don’t know how to explain it.”

    Somethings are easier to show.” She used the Force to pick up a small stone from around the fire and brought it over to K’Otar. It hovered in the air near her.

    The female Sand Person waved her hand above and below the rock. She became afraid.

    “Don’t be scared. The Force is life. We protect life.” Xiaan’s voice was soft. K’Otar considered this for a moment. Then, she handed Xiaan some materials. Xiaan was confused as to what to do with them. She turned to A’Sharad.

   “It is for your mask and hood. It is our custom for each member of our tribe to make their own.” He expounded to her.

   K’Otar instructed her on how to make one. Xiaan was eager to do it. She didn’t want to stand out or be disrespectful. Hours went by as she tried to mend all her piece together. Everything kept falling apart. K’Otar became frustrated and took over the bulk of the work.

   “Isn’t that more of a male mask, and should she be crafting it herself?” A’Sharad remarked to K’Otar.

   “It is easier this way. We are allowed to help…” She remembered the age restriction on the custom. “How old is she?”

   A’Sharad interpreted back Xiaan’s answer. “Fourteen.”

     “She is old enough.” K’Otar realized that they couldn’t argue for her to be their child. Xiaan was within the marriage age. “Still, it would be better to wait at least a year.” She realized what she had said. “Don’t interpret that to her.” She grabbed the mask and helped put it on Xiaan. The mask fit alright on her. However, when Xiaan attempted to drink some water with it on, she choked. She ripped off the mask and spit out the water.

    Once she could breath, she apologized. “I’m sorry. I meant no disrespect.”

   “None was taken. It happens sometimes with young one.” A’Sharad assured her. “Give it time and try again.”

    Xiaan’s heart was racing as she put back on the mask.

   He grabbed her hand. “Relax.”

    She blushed and took a deep breath. She drank and ate successfully with it. A’Sharad and K’Otar were both pleased with her.

    “You should rest now.” He advised her. Xiaan felt very uncomfortable taking a nap in front of them.

    “Can I take the mask off when I sleep?” Xiaan hoped to use this as an excuse not to rest.

    “You can take it off in this hut because it is yours. You must have it on before you leave this hut.”

    Her hopes were dashed. As she carefully took off her mask, she noticed A’Sharad and K’Otar arguing. “What’s wrong?”

    “She keeps suggesting that I should retire to the other hut.” He complained. “I have to stay here and protect you.”

    “K’Otar and her husband have been…”

    He interrupted her, “mate. We call it bonded mates.”

     “That sounds beautiful. Anyway, they have been very kind to me and have taken care of me. I don’t think that they would harm me.”

    “You have no idea what is going on.”

    “That’s kind of obvious.”

     He couldn’t help but smile at her humor and honesty. “Get some rest.” A’Sharad pointed to the ground. “Don’t worry. My father will be back soon with your master.”

     “I’m not worry.” Since Xiaan landed on Tatooine, she always had been on her guard. In this tribe, she felt truly safe. After a good night’s rest, she rose up early.

    A’Sharad was worried when he awoke to find her missing. “She is out hunting with the little dewback.” A’Dae informed him as he walked passed him.

     He used the Force to pinpoint her exact location. Xiaan hadn’t been that far away from the village. She helped the dewback carry back a dead rill. He caught sight of her and rushed over to grab her. “You weren’t supposed to leave without me. Understood?”

    “But I didn’t want to wake you, and I did wear the mask.” She sensed his concern and annoyance. “Yes, I understand.” He dragged her back to village. She tugged him over to the bantha herd to off the little dewback.

    It munched on the rill a little. Then, it abandoned the meat to play with the young banthas. Xiaan petted the mother bantha. “She saved our lives.” She stroked the bantha’s fur. “The little hunter and I wouldn’t have survived through the cold nights without her.”

     A’Sharad joined her in petting the mother bantha. “You did save her life and that of her calf.”

      “The calf was so cute and a little gooey at first. I would love a bath.” She realized what she just said and quickly change topics. “I wish I could have saved the others.”

     “What stopped you?”

     “I found out too late. I thought that I had convinced the moisture farmers to not attack the Sand People. They didn’t wreck their farms. They didn’t believe me. I should have done better to convinced them.”

     “Nothing that you could have done would have changed their minds. They hate us.”

     “Do you hate them?”

    “Hate is part of the Dark Side. It leads to suffering.” Yet, he couldn’t help having some Darkness inside him.

     She felt the conflict from within too. “Master Yoda said that ‘there is no try’. Another master added, ‘when people are suffering, it can be very trying on you.’” She touched the top of his hand. “The harder the struggle, the stronger you must be because of it.”

      He quickly pulled his hand away. “It must be so different for you here. Your world must be very peaceful.”

     “The temple is peaceful, but the planet is quite the opposite. There are layers of cities on top of cities. It is very chaotic.” She looked at the horizon. “You can the suns setting and rising. On Coruscant, you can hardly see the sky with all the buildings in the way.”

      “Though with all the Jedi gathered there, the Force must be vivid.”

       Xiaan offered. “Your father and you should come and visit the temple. I would… we would like to hear all of your experiences.”

     “Perhaps,” he looked around. “For now, let’s do a little work before you rest.”

      The rest of the day went by fast. That evening, Xiaan was left by herself in the hut. A’Sharad kept guard outside the hut. She still missed having company. She knew that she would have to get use it since her master would come, and they would leave. She tried reaching out in the Force to see how close he was.

      A’Sharad heard a gasp inside her hut. He ran inside. “Are you alright?”

      “I had a vision.”

     “What did you see?” He sat down next to her patiently.

     “It started out with a humming noise. The noise came from beyond a small pond. It was passed a forked cliff and near a flatten mountain.” She closed her eyes to focus the detail. “The camp was triangle shape. One side had carts full of rocks. The Sand People were pushing them. There were Jawas manning the drills. The criminals gathered them together and shot them. A ship took off into space. That’s all that I saw.”

     “Has this happen or is this going to happen?”

    “I don’t know.” Xiaan was distressed.

     “Stay here.” A’Sharad hurried out to make arrangements. Even if they were late, they could give the dead a proper burial. He hoped the vision was in the future, so they could prevent it. He promptly returned to her. “We are heading out tonight. One of them has been to that location before. He’ll guide us.”

     She put on her mask. “How many are coming with us?”

     “Ten including us.” They headed to the banthas. A’Dae was among the ten. They rode during the night and rested part of the day. Xiaan hardly spoke during the trip. A’Sharad could feel her concern for the captives.

     Thankfully, when they arrived at the spot, the captives were still alive. It was about dusk. They spied the criminals packing up. They would strike soon and leave. They had to act now, but they were greatly outnumbered. They could either go for revenge with quick ambush, or they could save the captives. A’Sharad chose the captives. He turned to Xiaan for a distraction idea.

     “I could sabotage the ship to cause sparks to come out. We are still going to need cover for the captives to flee.” Xiaan pondered this problem. “We used their speeders for cover before, but there is too many here.”

      “What else do they have that we can use?”

     “Bombs!” Her eyes lit up. “They seem to be in a rush. Even with the drills, they would need some precision bombs to make the work twice as fast. We would need to find the person carrying them quick.”

     “I can do that.” He decided. “Here is the plan.”

      A’Sharad and Xiaan took the lead creeping into the enemy’s camp. She used the Force to damage one of the motors on the space ship. A’Sharad stole all the bombs and threw them at the speeders. He crashed the remaining speeders into each. Four warriors guided the captives away as other Sand people provided cover fire. The captives got out safely since most of the enemy’s attack was focus on A’Sharad and Xiaan. They drew the enemies away from the captives. However, they were also far from the banthas. The enemies were on hot pursuit of them. Even with Force run, they couldn’t shake the enemies off. A’Sharad knew the terrain better than theses criminals. He pulled Xiaan into a worrt hole to hide. They waited in the cramp hole until the enemies finally gave up and returned to their camp. He told his bantha where they were with Force. The bantha came straight for him. Xiaan was impressed with their rapport.

    “You’re bleeding.” He grabbed some herbs from off his bantha.

   His gentle touch made her have butterflies in her stomach. “Oh, I scraped my knees.” He poured the herbs on her cuts and wrapped it up. She bit her lower lip and looked away. “Will the Jawas be alright?”

    “They will be sent back to their people.” He gestured for her to climb up his bantha. He wrapped his arm around her waist as they rode. She figured that he didn’t want her to fall off especially with how tired she was. She fell asleep on his shoulder.

    He didn’t mind her there. Her presence was smoothing. He felt relief like she was cool water. Their ride was pleasant and too short for his liking.

    When they arrived at the village, all the Sand People were shocked and floored by the appearance of Master Rancisis. No one had ever seen a being like. He was half man half snake. They were afraid to go near him except for Xiaan. She leaped down and ran to him.

    “Master,” she bowed to him.

    “Xiaan, it seems like you had quite the adventure.” Master Rancisis was both relieved and upset. He turned to Sharad. “Master Hett and A’Sharad, I thank you for looking after my apprentice.

    “It was our honor.” Sharad Hett bowed his head.

   “We should be heading back. We have much to report to the council.” Master Rancisis declared. “I am sure the council will want to speak with you soon.”

    “They are always welcome in our tribe.”

   “May the Force be with you.” Master Rancisis slithered to the landspeeder.

    Xiaan lingered for a moment. She wanted to say something but didn’t know what exactly to say.

    A’Sharad approached her. “We will see each other again.” He said as if it were a fact.

    She beamed at him. Then, she ran to follow her master. They took the little dewback with them. Once they were miles away, Xiaan took off the mask.

   “It must be a harsh life to live out in the desert.” Master Rancisis commented.

    She stared at the mask. “Yes, it can also be very beautiful.”

**Author's Note:**

> For more information, go to https://aurora-light-blog.tumblr.com/


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